walls to smalls at deep space gallery.

It took me so long to write about this and I know I keep saying that and I’m truly sorry but this is my recap of Walls to Smalls at Deep Space Gallery.

Walls to Smalls is a show featuring art from street artists that usually get their art on using a “wall” as their canvas but for this show they did art on smaller pieces of material that then went onto a wall for display. Walls and smalls, smalls and walls.

The cycle continues.

As always, it’s a great show! And it’s there for a few weeks so you have plenty of time to check it out. DON’T SLEEP, as they say.

Let’s talk about the art.

Duel ris had pieces that looked like they were made with sharpie in a notebook and I LOVE THAT. It really makes me excited that real art can be made with such simple tools. Tools that are fully available to me and everyone but only a special person, aka a person with a special skill, aka an ARTIST, could make art this nice with two very simple tools.

Please continue to blow my mind, thx.

Blusterone had work that showed scenes from the subway and it made me think about how I really haven’t gone on the subway in a REALLY LONG time. Like maybe not since last summer? The PATH train sure, but not the subway. Weird.

We stared at these Mustart pieces for a while and tried to pick out all the different elements we could see. It was fun to take the time to really stare and study.

Most importantly we saw a uterus.

Beyond that, we all were pretty pumped about the chains turning into birds.

Rubicon – do we know the people depicted here? These paintings made me think I knew the people in them because a few weeks ago I saw the artist post a call for old Polaroids that he would then paint. I don’t know why that made me think I knew them but the man especially looked really familiar.

This piece by TDee is a peacock, which is a kind of bird so I love it, duh.

AND IT IS SO BRILLIANTLY BLUE😍

This piece by Boogierez reminded me of Sara Fasolin, an artist I admire on Instagram. In my notes I referred to this as “bird/teeth Instagram thing.” Because this lady ALSO has teeth on her in a weird place. Teeth in weird places is so creepy but in a fun scary way.

Ntel had this fun piece with a bright green background and PINK FROGS. Pink animals? Can’t go wrong.

Optimo almost always has this top hat guy around but this time he was IN GOOOOOLD. And I loooove goooold.

Chris RWK’s pieces had this friendly looking little robot and I love this friendly looking little robot.

Of course the one with the little red bird is my fav.

It’s essential that we befriend the robots so we’re on their team when they become our overlords.

Another favorite recurring character is this guy by Keith VanPelt. This time around I really loved the one with a feather in his hat. Because feathers are from birds.

Barc The Dog I’ve never seen before but LOVE the dog and its shark/dino teeth. It’s very cartoon-ish and cartoons have my heart forever.

Boogierez had the only photos in the show and photos are hard to make special, in my opinion. Especially because everyone has the ability to take photos at their fingertips. But these are special! They stand out.

That’s not even everyone! There are a ton of artists in this show. These are just some of my personal favs but I think you should go and check it out to see what YOU like. Don’t take MY word for it, I’m an amateur.

Walls to Smalls is at Deep Space Gallery for the next few weeks. You can DM them on Instagram to make an appointment!

skorts.

It’s time to talk about skorts.

SKORTS ARE EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED AND MORE.

Like, you can wear a skirt. It can be a very short skirt. And underneath that skirt, there are shorts that are attached, shorts that COME WITH THE SKIRT. And this makes a skort! And you can wear it anywhere!

As a little kid I LOVED SKORTS. I always wanted to be wearing a dress but I ALSO always wanted to be on the move. Riding bikes and running and jumping over things and sitting in the grass reading a book and just living life. So a skort offered the perfect solution to wear a dress but also be able to move and groove and not be worried that people could see my underwear.

Not that I have ever really worried that people can see my underwear.

When I was 12 I became a cheerleader and an essential part of the cheerleading uniform is what we called “bloomers.” In some circles/regions of the country they were called “spankies” or “spanky pants” and I think that’s unnecessarily creepy and bordering on misogynist so we’ll call them “bloomers” here, thx.

But bloomers allow the cheerleading uniform to be cute and girly (two of my favorite things) while also being functional. Cheerleaders can wear a lovely little dress and look great in photos and they’re also able to kick their legs and do backflips and jump and bend over to lift whole other people and no one cares whether or not they can see their butts because they’re covered by a small piece of stretchy polyester fabric and that makes it socially acceptable.

And the skort FUSES THE BLOOMERS TO THE SKIRT. I’ll be honest, I forgot my bloomers on more that one occasion. Not on purpose! Maybe on purpose? But if I did, I would have to wear shorts I had in my gym locker or shorts I borrowed from a friend or extra bloomers my coach had. And that was annoying. It would have been great to just have a skort!

As a freshman in high school I had a pink skort I got at Express and I WORE THAT SHIT TIL THE WHEELS FELL OFF. I wore it to school and to the beach and to the mall and on vacation and I probably wore it to sleep. The summer before sophomore year, at cheer camp I spotted another team that had skorts as part of their “camp clothes” and we only had boring old soffe shorts and I lobbied SO HARD for us to have skorts as part of our “camp clothes” and we FINALLY DID when I was a senior.

Pink skort.

So then I had two skorts in my wardrobe, the hot pink Express one and a navy blue one that I also wore into the ground including when I played in the powder puff football game senior year.

Navy skort.

Because anything you can do I can do better AND IN A SKORT.

Sadly I don’t know what became of these skorts because they’d be like 20 years old now, but this spring I procured two NEW skorts, one from Girlfriend Collective and one from Free People.

The Girlfriend Collective one is very sleek, it’s a lovely smooth material. It fits perfectly and it looks great. It’s nice for a workout to look and feel cute and I didn’t have to do any tugging at the skirt or the shorts beneath. Zero tugging on the skort as a whole.

Skort screenshot.

The Free People one is super cute and flares out and I think could be described as “flirty.” It actually looks a lot like the traditional cheerleading skirt shape and I love that about it. I miss wearing cheerleading skirts! I like the way they look on me and feel like they’re inherently flattering to my particular shape (athletic, short legs, muscular thighs) and not many other clothes are. Especially not stupid jeans.

Flirty!

I really enjoyed wearing this skort and frolicking over the weekend, but it didn’t fit as well as the Girlfriend Collective one in that I had to keep pulling on it to reposition it. Maybe it would have been better in a different size but I still love it and will certainly rock it again.

Really looking forward to wearing both of these skorts all summer long for any and every activity I’ll see you there.

madame claude at white eagle hall.

During Normal Times™️ White Eagle Hall was a fun, fab, fantastic place to see live music in Jersey City. I saw some of my most favs there: Best Coast, Waxahatchee, The Black Lips. LIFE WAS GOOD.

Life isn’t that good now but we DO have the option of dining at Madame Claude AT White Eagle Hall and I think that’s pretty great, you guys.

We can eat food and drink drinks AND hear live music! The folks playing the music walk around and play the music! We can be inside this really cool historic building that I actually really, REALLY missed and have a great night!

Last night we really had a great night.

I had a TON of La vie en rose cocktails. Definitely lost count but it was a ton.

A TON.

The La vie en rose cocktail has lychee and vodka and some other stuff but I was mostly in it for the lychee. And the lychee was in it for ME.

We had a charcuterie board as an appetizer. Because we do what we must.

For my entree I chose the salmon. IT WAS INCRED. GET THE SALMON YOU GUYS.

They were kind enough to allow us to outsource dessert because it was my friend’s bday. Like they let her bring in a tray of banana pudding from baonanas and a delicious cake. The birthday desserts were EXCEPTIONAL and I was glad we got to have them.

All night the band played jazzy music on stage and it set a wonderful mood.

It was a great choice of birthday venue for my pal and I’d love to go back.

The end.

what does encarta mean to you?

Last night I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix and my mind was blown and I was all whacked out on learning shit. But I wanted to throw it back a few years as far as technology and ask, what does Encarta mean to you?

But first I’ll tell you what Encarta means to me. Because this is about ME.

I probably think about this too much but I often ponder upon the fact that I lived before there was an Internet. Like, before there was an Internet AT ALL, and then after that there was a little bit of the Internet just at home, on a computer in a desk in my parents’ bedroom, and THEN it became the Internet as we know it today. The Internet that is everywhere and also inside of our brains.

We almost always had computers in school, thank goodness. But I do remember the first time we got to use them for Oregon Trail in kindergarten. As in, I remember that particular day because they weren’t there before and then they were and I was PUMPED AF.

Again, these computers did not have the internet. So what’s the point of having computers that don’t have the internet? I don’t know and I’m sorry, but that’s all we had available to us at the time you guys.

By the time the in between time arrived, when we had internet at home (but only if someone wasn’t on the phone), and not at school, we were introduced to a fun little program called Encarta.

Encarta was an encyclopedia but it was software and on a CD-effing-ROM and you put it into the computer and it would play a recognizable tone that I somehow no longer remember and then it would be ready to act as your instant encyclopedia and that was mind blowing at the time.

We would have “computer class” where we wouldn’t actually be instructed in any learning. We would just be given Encarta to mess around with for the entire 50 min class. Like, “Here’s Encarta, kids! Go nuts!”

And I loved it. I loved it so much. I’d like to tell you about some of my favs. I’m going to write what I remember off the top of my head, then I’ll look them up to fact check at the end. Just for fun. Like why not?! It’s Friday!

eugene O’Neill.

To this day I have no idea who Eugene O’Neill is. I’m assuming some kind of writer? But when you looked him up on Encarta it would come up with this audio that said, and I quote, “The dead. Why can’t the dead just die?”

AND. WE. LOST. OUR. MINDS.

We would seriously laugh until we cried. It was the funniest thing I had ever heard. It still makes me giggle now, writing this.

And I know Eugene probably meant it in a serious way, like the dead haunt us in our minds even when they’re dead. But we were 12 so we weren’t thinking of that, okay?!

death of a salesman.

I didn’t know anything about Death of a Salesman in middle school. At some point, because of Encarta, I did read Death of a Salesman.

Or maybe I just saw it in a show?

Either way I don’t remember it now. But I DO remember that if you looked it up on Encarta the guy would say, “But Willie was a SALESMAN.” He would really emphasize SALESMAN in a way we found hilarious.

I feel like maybe we were kind of assholes.

Hindenburg crash.

The Hindenburg crash was obviously shitty. It happened in New Jersey. For some reason I always thought it happened in Lyndhurst but when I looked it up that was not the case.

I now forget where it happened so you’ll have to wait until fact check time at the end to find out.

We loved the video of the Hindenburg crash because the guy screams, “OH THE HUMANITY!” and it’s so ridiculously dramatic and intense that it’s somehow laughable. I just laughed until I had tears in my eyes thinking about it on the light rail.

It’s terrible we laughed at that! I know it! I feel bad about it. But it just seemed like a funny choice of words. Instead of like “oh my god!” or “holy shit!” or even some other era-appropriate expression of surprise, he said “OH THE HUMANITY!”

I mean I guess he was pretty stressed. Sorry Hindenburg crash camera guy.

animals.

I can’t remember this as distinctly as the others but I KNOW we must have looked up a ton of animals. I’ve always been into animals and books about animals and Encarta about animals and now stuff on the internet about animals. I mean I think this goes without saying.

Encarta was the first place that I could procure animal info ON DEMAND and that was straight up BAD ASS. I definitely looked up every animal.

Well I guess that’s all I remember. When I started writing I thought I would think of more. But I didn’t. Sry.

encarta now.

Now I’m going to look up Encarta and see what sparks my memory.

Omg they had this music! I loved this!

porta jersey city is open for pickup.

You guys, PORTA JERSEY CITY IS OPEN FOR PICK UP. I AM SO INCREDIBLY PUMPED.

TODAY IS PIZZA FRIDAY IN NEW JERSEY AND PORTA JERSEY CITY IS OPEN FOR PICKUP.

I’m used to going to Porta at least once a week. When I lived downtown it got to the point of almost once a day. I freaking love Porta and I’ve been missing their food so much during this terrible time.

I’ve also been missing the environment there! Everyone is friendly and accommodating and it always smells so good and the lighting is flattering AF. I even made it official and introduced Porta to my parents. PORTA IS IN MY FAMILY.

HOW DID THEY KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT OWLS AND ALSO NUTELLA?!

Don’t even get me started on the Porta rooftop. It is truly my heaven. I’m missing it so much this year and I can’t wait to get back. Every spring for the last 4 years hasn’t really started until me or one of my friends text, “Porta roof?!” to each other. Then we know it’s ON. Plants, sunlight, frozen drinks, live music, crouching under the little roof over the bar during a summer rainstorm…UGH. Truly a place where dreams came true. Best days of my life.

How did they also know I’ve always wanted a “Pizza Saves” shirt and put one in my swag bag?!

Hopefully those days will be back SOON, BUT for now they have takeout available, starting at 3:30pm today! PIZZA FRIDAY YOU GUYS. AS IS TRADITION.

to order.

Online ordering, menu, and instructions can be found here. The instructions involve a fun and socially distant safe method of choosing a letter to stand by outside and then texting them your name and letter and they’re bring it out! I don’t know why I really enjoyed this but I did.

You can also order by phone 201-544-5199 if that’s your thing. I personally haven’t called anyone since 2003. If you order by phone the fun instructions still stand.

We were lucky and #blessed to have a special little sneak peek last night and it was so badass! I got the arugula pizza which was separated into the pizza, a container of arugula, and a container of truffle oil for me to put together when I got home. SO THE ARUGULA DIDN’T GET SOGGY, YOU GUYS. GENIUS.

I couldn’t help myself and also ordered the mozzarella and a baguette. The whole Uber ride home I kept smelling the baguette sticking out of the bag and it smelled so good and I was so hungry and frankly driven to SHEER MADNESS.

My boyfriend got the meatball pizza, I think, but I’m not sure because he devoured it. We really miss Porta!

Who even knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

Happy Friday you guys, and check out Porta pickup THIS VERY EVENING! I’m eating last night’s leftovers for dinner, but I plan and hope and pray to get back down there today to try out some of their to-go cocktails as well.

PIZZA SAVES. THINGS ARE LOOKING UP. PINK SKIES AHEAD.

janedo may challenge.

Here we go, it’s the JaneDO May Challenge! The JaneDO May Challenge actually started on May 1 so we’re 7 days in. We are a week in. I really put off writing about this and instead sat on my couch and watched The Sopranos. I couldn’t muster the mental strength to put pen to paper, or whatever.

7 DAYS IN AND GOING STRONG.

But I AM going strong! From a physical perspective yes, very strong. The challenge is to do 21 classes with JaneDO in 31 days. You have the whole month of May to do it! I’m actually going to try to do a class every day of the 31 days because there is LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE TO DO. But first I need to get to 21. Let’s focus on that.

The JaneDO May Challenge simply consists of marking off each day you attend a class on a cute little bingo board. To participate in the challenge you can obtain a bingo board at any JaneDO location.

OH WAIT NONE OF THEM ARE OPEN.

They’re actually doing a virtual bingo board this year and I am PUMPED. I usually lose my board at least once and I always forget to bring it to class like…every day. So the virtual board is really working out better for me overall. Maybe it should always be virtual?! Save the trees?!

Virtual board, FOREVAAAA.

To do a livestream class with JaneDO and start checking shit off on your card, check this out: JaneDO Livestream

The JaneDO May Challenge has been going on for a few years. The first time I participated was in May 2016. As you may be aware, 2016 was a big year for me as far as getting healthy and getting my shit together. So I really enjoyed this challenge as a final “do the right thing” boost before the summer came and it was time to party.

The past few years the prize for completing the challenge has been a branded tank top. I love a branded tank top! I ESPECIALLY love a branded tank top with a date on it that references the current date of now. So 5 or 10 or 37 years from now one can look at that tank top and be like, “Yeah!” Kinda like how I look at my t-shirt from cheering at the Insight Bowl in 2005 which as of today was 52 years ago.

Last year it may have been something that wasn’t a branded tank top but I’m having trouble remembering. I did fail at one challenge recently in January because I got sick and maybe I failed last year in May as well. You can’t win them all, you guys. As much as I would like to be an unstoppable workout machine it doesn’t seem like that’s in the cards. In the Bingo cards, specifically.

That’s all I got. Are you doing any fun fitness challenges? Any fun other challenges? Are you just taking naps all day and accomplishing nothing? I read that’s okay too.

i’m afraid of COVID-19

I know just ten days ago I was asking if I should even be afraid of coronavirus, but now I am fully afraid of COVID-19. This isn’t anything new that you’ll read today. It’s just a scary time.

My biggest fear is being trapped in my house. Or like, not being able to go anywhere fun. Or being encouraged to avoid fun places with a lot of people. Because there are a lot of people there.

Overall I’ve been pretty skeptical, but I read this today and it pulled me to the dark side. Of terror. The article contains a lot of math I don’t understand at all, but it convinced me that kinda hiding out is prob a good idea to slow this shit down.

At work I got all whipped up into a panic and had to leave. I couldn’t sit at my desk anymore. Tomorrow I’ll work from home. And next week. And then after that we’ll see.

Fear.

Wash your hands, or whatever. K bye.

i’m not a morning person but I play one on tv. or, how to be a morning person.

Oh did you come here to learn how to be a morning person? I’m sorry, I don’t know how to be a morning person. I mean I do know the way in which I individually force myself to be a morning person against my own will, but I’m not sure if it would work for you.

I mean maybe it would?! I guess it’s worth a try? So I’ll share this with you. When I talk to myself inside of my head and force myself to be one, this is how to be a morning person.

get enough sleep.

I mean, duh. But maybe not duh? I feel like no one else around me ever gets enough sleep. But I ALWAYS get enough sleep. I have made sleep a priority. I think sleep is the priority that I respect most in my life. I need at least 7 hours and I prefer 8. I will do everything in my power to get all of these hours in during a consecutive and consistent chunk, every single night. I will literally run out of the bar without saying bye, I do not care. Sleep is my only mistress and I report to her alone.

I have fought to make sleep a priority in my life and I will continue to fight for it. It’s very easy for sleep to slip away again, it’s true. People are always trying to get me to “go out” or “stay out” or “stay up and watch this thing” and I have to fight them off. FIGHT. THEM. OFF.

“Good sleep hygiene” sounds weird and maybe even gross and like something I may not want to think about, but it is important.

Many people in our culture pride themselves on not getting enough sleep and always doing work work work and being stressed out and they’re like “Hey look at me! I’m the busiest! This is a race to be the busiest and to make myself the biggest martyr possible and I will keep running in it and be a martyr and also be miserable until I die!”

And they are fools. Not getting enough sleep and working so hard that you hate your very existence isn’t something to be proud of. Take a breath. Take a break. Get it together. You’re doing it wrong.

use an alarm clock that imitates the rising sun.

This is one of my most FAVORITE discoveries of the last few years, as far as an item that helps with how to be a morning person. An alarm clock that imitates the rising sun?! What?! It is amazing. And it’s inside of your room, right next to your face. Frankly, almost inside of your face. So you practically BECOME and FULLY EMBODY circadian rhythm. And you subconsciously begin waking up before you even realize you’re waking up! So by the time the actual alarm goes off you’re like, oh…I’m already up. Here I am. Let’s go!

I also set this alarm clock at least 15 mins ahead. But I trick myself when I’m setting the time by making up a number which is anywhere within the 10 minute range of 15 mins ahead (which is easy, because I legitimately have dyscalculia and numbers make no sense to me) so it could be precisely 15 mins ahead but it could vary by about 5-10 minutes in either direction so I have to get out of bed to check an accurate time source just to know for sure. Speaking of that…

do not sleep with your phone in your room.

I’m not against technology by any means and I love my phone as much as the next millennial (YOUNG millennial, I don’t relate to the OLD millennials one bit, even though I’m technically an old millennial), but phones are enemies of sleep. She doesn’t relate to them one bit. So let the phone go. Keep it in the living room. Send your last text, like your last Instragram like, Slack your last co-worker, and put it down. And step away. And don’t pick it up until tomorrow. Don’t!!!

once you’re up, drink a drink!

If you’re a coffee person, get that coffee into you right away. RIGHT. AWAY. I am a coffee person but sometimes I go through phases where coffee takes me to another level of panic so I need to tone it down for a few weeks and I just chug water.

This isn’t rocket science, but when you wake up you are dehydrated AF and you also need to drink water. If you don’t drink/don’t need coffee and you just move straight to the water chug you are ahead of the game.

I want to try this rapid hydration mix to see how it works and you can get it for me for Xmas, plz.

shame yourself.

Honestly this is the only thing that works for me and I do it every single morning that I wake up before 10am. I repeat “GetUp GetUp GetUp GetUp” in my head until I actually get up. Then I start to guilt trip myself once I have ANY thoughts about going back to sleep. Sleep is my mistress but now that I’m awake on the other side SHE IS MY ENEMY AND I MUST RESIST AT ALL COSTS.

really take a minute to think honestly and candidly about the extra free time you are giving yourself because it is BAD. ASS.

When I went on a gals trip with my friends, my one friend and I were both a little embarrassed to admit that we were looking forward to “quietly drinking coffee by the lake in the early morning.” I mean I was definitely embarrassed because I felt like it made me sound like some kind of live laugh love basic bitch. But this early morning moment was and is crucial.

Unforch I’m not always by a lake, but every day in the morning I try to have this moment. Sometimes I drink coffee in silence and stare at the wall. Sometimes I drink coffee and listen to NPR because I’m a coastal elitist like that. Sometimes I stare out my bathroom window at the NYC skyline and zone out and forget what time it is so I have to rush to the gym. Take this moment and make it your own.

Beyond that first thing in the morning moment you will have SO. MUCH. EFFING. TIME. PERSONAL TIME. And it’s at the beginning of the day so you can put some quality energy into your personal life stuff. You don’t have to disrespect it with the scraps of half assed energy you have at the end of the day after work.

You can meal prep, you can zone out and watch The Today Show, you can LITERALLY WRITE THIS BLOG.

But seriously if you have any hobbies or (fun) personal development you need some time for THIS IS THE TIME.

Any time I wake up late (which happens, even using these methods) I then shame myself about ALL THE FREE TIME that I let slip through my fingers. And that usually keeps it from happening again soon.

fake it til you make it.

At some point in high school I think someone said that smiling releases chemicals that make your brain happy and I fully bought into that. I was like “oooo I just read The Catcher in the Rye and everyone is a phony and I’m mopey and moody about that but I’m gonna beat the system and be a phony too and make myself smile so I’m happy. <insert random 16 year old snark>”

And then I was like “Oh I’m so mysterious and complicated because I smile and people think I’m fine but I’m not fine.” OH WOEFUL LIFE!

But like, no one is fine. No one in the world. And the people that get the closest to fine are the ones that fake being fine until it’s true.

I’m NOT saying to never be sad or mad, or to ever hide or repress your feelings. But I AM saying that when you are tired and don’t want to get up, you need to fake that you’re not tired. And you need to CONVINCE YOURSELF that you are not tired.

And when you go to the gym at 6am after waking up at 5:15am and riding a piece of shit shuttle bus, you need to again CONVINCE YOURSELF that you’re not tired by saying good morning to everyone and smiling and getting stretched out and amping yourself up.

My thoughts when I open the door and enter the gym and walk up the stairs are “GET AMPED SHAN. GET AMPED AF. DO IT. YOU WON’T. DO ITTTT. AMPEDDDD!”

It is the only way. That is how to be a morning person.

I’m now realizing there is a lot of mind trickery that goes on with this. I guess it helps.

say good morning.

If you know me you know that I hate talking to strangers and dislike being spoken to by random people on the street. BUT, if giving and receiving “good mornings” helps you get more amped up then DO IT. I do it sometimes if I’m in the mood and it honestly makes me like 20% more amped. It most often happens on Saturdays when I say “Happy Saturday!” instead of “Good Morning!” Which I think is a genius greeting and more people need to say it.

Because every Saturday is a holiday and must be cherished.

stay on schedule.

They say this a lot. “They” being the internet and also science. You need to stay on schedule. I think they say if you deviate like an hour or two from your bed time or wake up time it will be okay, but more than that will send you spiraling back into staying up too late, insomnia, sleeping through your alarm, and NOT CLAIMING YOUR VALUABLE PERSONAL TIME. DON’T DEVIATE. STAY ON SCHEDULE.

I think that’s all I’ve got. I will say that I have never once in my life woken up feeling refreshed. I feel like shit and sleepy as hell every morning. It is a struggle to wake up and to get out of bed and I hate it. But all of these things help me trick myself into it. Maybe they’ll help you too!

Do you have any thoughts on how to be a morning person? Am I missing anything? Have you tried all of these things and none of them work? If so, I’m sorry. That’s hard. But maybe one day you’ll find something that works. You need that free personal time! Go get it! Dammit!

chillhouse soho.

LOVE ME SOME CHILLHOUSE.

And now they have a new Soho location! It’s at 75 Varick St.

WTF is Adelphi University?

There, fixed it.

From the first time I went to their LES location and got a Tier 2 gel mani I have been obsessed.

Chillhouse isn’t just a nail salon. Chillhouse is a lifestyle.

Simply chill.

That sounds millennial as hell, but it truly is. They’re all about self care, which like, SIGN ME UP. It smells amazing in there, their playlists are the greatest I’ve ever heard, all of the colors in their decor are the only colors I ever want to see ever again, and it’s so relaxing in there that I literally fall asleep every time I’m getting my nails done.

Chill plants, chill shapes, chill colors.

I love their manicures because you can get designs and you can choose from tiers of designs so you know up front how much it will cost. LOVE THAT. I like nail designs but always get stressed/nervous when I don’t know how much the design is going to cost or if it’s overall or per nail and I 100% do not want to discuss it with the person doing my nails because I am awkward as hell. So having an upfront design price really saves me a lot of stress and makes my experience way more…chill. And that’s so great! Like it should be relaxing, you guys!

Call the number to chill. JK I don’t think it works. Just go to their website.

Their new Soho location is super big and super bright and super fab but also still retains all of the things I love about Chillhouse. Except times 10 because it’s much bigger and really awesome.

Tools of chill.

The Soho location has a bigger cafe and hangout area, it has HUGE windows all around the mani area so you can people watch on people walking around outside, and they finally have pedicures!

Cafe!

Really love these glam foot baths.

I’ve only ever gotten my nails done there so I can only speak to that, but they do have other cool (dare I say “chill”) services like facials and massages. I’ll get those someday. Omg I just made my Xmas list and sent it to my mom maybe I should add one of those to that?!

So much chill to offer!

One of the coolest things about Chillhouse is that the gal in charge of the whole shebang, Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, has been there in person every single time I’ve been there. She’s checking in on things or working (aka running a growing empire) from there or even chatting with clients. It’s her business and she’s running it from among her employees and I think that’s super cool. It inspires me to see her there and also reminds me that small businesses can make even a gargantuan city like NYC feel like a small town. Keep chillin it and killin it, Cyndi!

Have you been to Chillhouse? Do you like it? If not you should check it out! It’s great, and you’ll love it, and the new locaish is right by the Canal St 1 train stop. Like 20 steps from there. Do it!

pumpkin carving.

We carved pumpkins! Woo!

That’s pretty much it and I feel like crap today from “having too much fun” last night so I’m just going to include a few pics of the process and final products and then I’m going to bed.

I had never used one of these little kits until last year and the little knives are amazing. And probably way safer than using my dull old knives. I still am bad at using the cool little knives because I’m not good at using knives.

This year I used a little pattern for the first time to make an owl and I think it was a success! I have a hard time conceptualizing negative space so I def needed the pattern. Thanks pumpkin carving company.

And the whole rest of this week will be considered Halloween every day! Get excited.